Lori Balue spent 25 years putting herself back together. She was 225 pounds, asthmatic, pre-diabetic, and addicted to processed foods she couldn't stop eating no matter how hard she tried. Her husband barely looked up from the couch when he asked her when she was going to lose the weight. Her eight-year-old son ran up the steps at Vernal Falls while she stood at the bottom wondering if she was going to survive the climb.

Today Lori is 63, 100 pounds lighter, asthma-free, and standing at the top of mountains she couldn't have imagined a decade ago. She's completed multiple Grand Canyon rim-to-rims, runs half marathons she dances through at the finish line, and is currently training for Mount Whitney. She is also a functional diagnostic nutrition and metabolic restoration practitioner who helps others over 50 do what she did — not through willpower or calorie restriction, but by fixing what's actually broken.

This episode of Trail Stories traces the arc from that staircase at Vernal Falls to the rim of the Grand Canyon. It covers 25 years of books, diets, and false starts. A food addiction rooted in biology, not weakness. A divorce that happened while she was still figuring it all out. A hiking fatality she witnessed firsthand and couldn't stop thinking about. And one quiet moment — a question about what 63-year-old Lori would say to the 12-year-old version of herself — that stops the episode cold.

The full interview with Lori drops in two parts on Wednesday on the Hiker Trash Radio feed.

Show Notes

About the Guest


Lori Balue is a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner and metabolic restoration practitioner based in Southern California. After a 25-year journey through chronic asthma, pre-diabetes, PCOS, food addiction, and 100 pounds of weight she couldn't keep off, Lori solved her own metabolism — at 60 — and built a practice helping others over 50 do the same. She is a half-marathon finisher, multi-time Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hiker, and regular summit hiker in the San Gabriels and Sierra Nevada. At 63, she is training for Mount Whitney.

Episode Highlights


The Humpty Dumpty Model

Lori's working metaphor for what she does — and what the episode is about. You fill in all the cracks and put yourself back up on the wall so you can get moving again. It applies to her practice and to her own story: a body that was genuinely broken, rebuilt piece by piece over 25 years, now capable of things it couldn't do at 35.


Vernal Falls — Then and Now


In her 40s, Lori was 225 pounds with asthma, sinusitis, and bronchitis. She hiked Vernal Falls with her eight-year-old son — he ran up the steps while she could barely move, certain she was going to die on the staircase. Her allergist told her she would always be on an inhaler. She went back to Vernal Falls after losing the weight and curing the asthma. It was easy. The allergist was wrong.


Why We Get Fat — And Why It's Not Willpower


Nobody chooses to be overweight. The food environment is toxic by design. Ultra-processed foods are engineered to mimic the sensation of eating protein without delivering any — so the body never gets the signal to stop eating. Add chronically elevated insulin from a high-carbohydrate diet, undiagnosed food sensitivities that trigger depression and inflammation, and decades of low-fat dietary advice that stripped away the very macronutrients the body needs — and you get an epidemic that has nothing to do with personal failure.


Lori's 25-Year Arc


Raised in the San Gabriel Valley, the only one of seven siblings to struggle with weight. Atkins as a teenager — it worked, and her depression lifted with it. Then processed food addiction she couldn't name or overcome. Twenty pounds up, then more, then 225 pounds by her mid-30s. Nutrisystem. Starvation diets. The Wheat Belly. The HCG diet. Paleo. Finally keto — and the moment her brain turned back on. Functional diagnostic nutrition training. Her own diagnostic labs. The answer, 25 years in the making: wheat and dairy sensitivities driving depression, food addiction, and metabolic dysfunction. Fix the root cause and the weight comes off — and stays off.


The Wake-Up Call


Coming home from an outing with her eight-year-old son and hearing her husband ask, without looking up from the couch, when she was going to lose the weight. She got a book. Then another. Then 25 years of books. The husband didn't wait. They divorced while she was still figuring it out. She got there anyway.


Trail Nutrition — What Dialed-In Actually Looks Like


Lori's pre-hike morning protocol: mineral water with electrolytes and fulvic and humic minerals before anything else, followed by coffee with creatine, collagen, MCT oil, and Perfect Aminos. On the trail: fat snacks (almond butter with MCT oil, potassium, and sodium) for sustained energy, Ketone IQs for a lift on hard climbs, a keto brick for a full meal at the river, and LMNT electrolytes throughout. The single biggest mistake most hikers make: too much sugar, not enough fat and protein. Mitochondria run on fat. Feed them accordingly.


The Grand Canyon as Measuring Stick


Lori has returned to the Grand Canyon every year since 2016, when she descended to Phantom Ranch with excruciating knee pain on every step. Each visit she tracked her body's progress — strength, pain levels, altitude response. The rim-to-rim came when she was simply ready. Her most recent hike: a personal best on Bright Angel, five hours from the river to the rim, passing younger hikers who were struggling. She never sat down.


The Mount Wilson Fatality


Lori was hiking with a group at Mount Wilson when a member of her party — an experienced runner in excellent shape, headed soon for the Grand Canyon — stepped too close to an edge and fell. She was 30 minutes behind and arrived to find the aftermath. Her takeaway is practical and quietly devastating: it was not a bad decision. It was a complete fluke. Trail safety: approach narrow exposed sections front-to-back, not side by side. Never stand on edges. Life can happen in a flash.


What 63-Year-Old Lori Says to 12-Year-Old Lori


I would give her a hug. And just say — you're gonna be okay. We're gonna get through this. We're gonna make it. We're gonna survive. It's okay. I've got you. I've got you.


Mount Whitney — What's Next


Lori is on the wait list for a Mount Whitney permit and has been told to expect to go. Training with Mount Baldy. Planning a full day-trip push with a Meetup group. She's been studying the hiking guide. A little nervous — new territory. She'll do her best.


Hiking Hack — Ketone IQ and Perfect Aminos


On her most recent Bright Angel climb, three to four Ketone IQs on the ascent gave Lori what she calls a magical lift — she was moving past people half her age without effort. Perfect Aminos, taken daily for two years, have produced measurable year-over-year strength gains. Stronger legs. Better overall capacity. Both are coming to Whitney.


Trail Wisdom — Age Is Not the Variable


Don't let age be a defining moment. If hiking feels harder than it should, it's not because you're old — it's because your metabolism is dysfunctional and that's fixable. Prioritize protein. Build muscle. Correct the root cause. Your body functions the way it's designed to when you give it what it actually needs. The trail gets easier. The summit gets closer.


Links & Resources



  • Lori Balue — Website: https://www.loribalue.com

  • Lori Balue — YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@loribalue

  • Dr. William Davis — The Wheat Belly and Gut Solution books. Defiant Health podcast. Cardiologist and functional nutrition advocate. Lori's top reading recommendation for anyone over 50 concerned about metabolic health, cholesterol, or weight.

  • Gary Taubes — Why We Get Fat. The science behind low-carb nutrition and insulin response.

  • Ketone IQ — Exogenous ketone supplement. Lori's trail fuel for hard climbs.

  • Perfect Aminos — Free-form amino acid supplement. Daily use for two years has produced measurable strength gains.

  • Keto Brick — 1,000-calorie ketogenic meal brick. Lori's Grand Canyon lunch at the river.

  • Salt Soleil / LMNT — Electrolyte supplements used in Lori's hydration protocol.


Southern California Trails from Lori



  • Mount Baden-Powell — Lori's favorite local trail. Starts around 6,000 feet, climbs to approximately 9,400 feet. Forested, sustained elevation, highly recommended.

  • Mount Wilson — First ascent recently completed. Requires stops and pacing. Trail exposure at the summit — stay back from edges.

  • Mount Baldy — Current Whitney training target. Notorious for winter fatalities — technical conditions require appropriate gear and experience. Check conditions before you go.

  • Rocky Peak — 17-mile trail, approximately 3,000 feet of gain, completed in about six hours.

  • Towsley Canyon — Local warm-up. Five miles, accessible, good for dialed-in training days.

  • Grand Canyon — Bright Angel Trail — Lori's favorite Grand Canyon trail and personal best venue. Five hours from the river to the South Rim on the most recent descent.


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